Notes / Commercial Description:
"Drake's flagship beer! A "West Coast" interpretation of an India Pale Ale. Copper-colored from additions of light Crystal malt, and body-building Caramalt, carry the malt weight of this hop bomb. The hoppy aromas of pine and grapefruit are delivered from the abundant Columbus and Cascade hops."

Taste, good bitterness, a bunch of cara/crystal malt making the mouthfeel a little heavier and not necessarily a dry west coast pale malt background for it. Still very good. Wish they bottle dated. I've crushed a bunch of this at the #1 Raider bar around (Ricky's in San Leandro). Very good when fresh.

The cash cow of a brewery in a converted industrial plant, this makes a statement on the U.S. economy.
Since I am not a big fan of pushing IBUs too far, see the "1001 Beers" article. I found it interesting that when Drake's IPA was re-made in 2002, 65 IBU was pushing the definition. Today, 65 is tame.

Light copper in color, with a slight haze. Foamy, off white head with excellent retention. Streaked lacing & solid film. The aroma is citrus and pine with some caramel malt. The flavor is very hop forward - grapefruit and grass, herbal notes and pine as well. Juicy and resinous mouthfeel with the deep, grapefruit hops in the aftertaste. An excellent IPA.

Appearance: medium golden hue with the lightest dash of haze and a very light effervescence. Head is a thin layer of frothy ivory foam. Head could be better, otherwise quite nice.

Smell: piney hops atop a moderately sweet malt base. There's also a little hint of funk here; it's almost got this mild saison character to it. I like it.

Taste: all the character of the aroma comes through quite well in the flavor. It's piney, but also a bit floral; there's a bit of graininess to the malt which yields a bit of a soapy character; and that bit of saison is still in the mix. An odd duck of a beer but I dig it.

Mouthfeel: medium body with a moderate carbonation and decent creaminess.

Overall: a weird beer, and not really a traditional west-coast IPA as billed, but I still like this brew.

D/O - Drake's does a nice job with this one. It smells great, delicious, easy to drink, not overly complicated but gets straight to the point and that is hoppy IPA with a sweet malt backbone. This one is just waiting for a backyard BBQ or a rich filling dinner. Very clean, refreshing and come to think of it, I want another!

Final thoughts - At $9 a sixer and a perfect 7% ABV, you really can't ask for more from an "everydayer" as it were.

Poured from a 12 oz. bottle into an imperial pint glass.
A - Copper colored, strong carbonation yields a big white snow cap.
S - Deciduous hop profile, a nice treat in the sea of tropical' s these days, a bit of biscuit and the slightest hint of mint.
T - Pine forest delight, strong malt base fights it out with this wonderful hop profile.
F - A bit light n body but the carbonation keeps everything crisp.
O - I enjoyed this quite a bit, a through back to earlier IPAs when a bit of malt and pine was the way to go.
Cheers

Poured into a Seattle Beer Week pint glass. Pours a medium golden amber with a fine, half finger white head with great retention and good lacing. Aroma malt forward with caramel malt with moderate piney and citrus hops, lightly floral. Flavor follows with caramel malt, citrus, grassy hops with light pine; finishes with grapefruit rind, mildly resinous piney and grassy hops. Medium bodied with active carbonation. Nice malt body and robustly hops, but little herbal hop flavor although plenty of residual hop resin in the the finish. In a crowded field, a middle of the pack IPA that I would drink happily if offered, but not one I would seek out.

Seems to be an American IPA with some Brit accents. Appearance is good with a very long lasting, cream-colored head, some lace, and a clear amber color. Aroma is mostly caramel malt with bit of hop. Flavor is strongly hop bitter, carbonic tang up front, malt sweet in back with a very long hop bitter resin finish. Palate is good.Good drinking beer.

I'm too jaded to offer an objective review of any one of Drake's beers. Growing up in San Leandro, Drake's was one of my first true loves. But their IPA has a fantastic bite, full flavor and non filling feel. Gimme more, any day of the week.

Taste is dryish with light but dominant hop character, very lightly on the bitter side, mostly due to lack of sweetness not because the bitterness is really strong. Hints of musty raisin, bread, grapefruit.

This IPA has most of my favorite hops. It has a nice basic IPA touch. Some nice floral notes, but very heavy malt character over the hops. Some tropical fruit notes. Very little if any pine or grapefruit. Drinkable IPA, but lacking that extra something to take it up. Love a lot of their IPA's, but their year round IPA lacks character.

Pours a very clear light golden orange with a finger and a half of foam. Retention didn't last too long, down to a half finger 30 seconds later, high carbonation stemming from all over the place, okay lacing

Smells pretty hoppy off the top. Earthy and floral citrus; grapefruit and mandarin with hints of lemon, finishes with a nice aroma of pine. Sweet bready malts finish with a touch of a little alcohol on the end

Taste is pretty close with the nose, strong grapefruit, mandarin, and pine. A sweet caramel malt making up the backbone with a bit of booze

A- pours a light copper color with an off white head thin lacing is present and a fresh cap thru-out
S- more malt then hops faint crisp pine and some citrus aromas a little cracker meal smell
T- light but nice hops first of pine followed by some grapefruit and melon again malts fight thru and win the battle here
M-smooth and mellow on the hops but they are there medium carbonation
O- tasty IPA which leans more on the malty than hoppy side still i liked this one

Initial bold malty molasses paired with a nice nutty citrusy IPA comfort. Dark amber, not overly bitter or hoppy and is easy to drink at 7% alcohol. Soft carbonation with a thick mouthfeel and plenty of frothy foam. Pine flavor comes in nicely throughout to create a medium-complex and highly drinkable IPA that will make you stop and think. This beer stands out among west coast IPA's as less insanely hoppy and more of a well rounded and thoughtful ale.

EDIT: This beer is commonly available at $8 for a 6 pack and I find myself always happy to pick it up. 4/5 for a much above average IPA that is about as cheap as craft beer gets.

First Drake's brews I have seen up here in Beervanna. Pours a golden amber with a dense but small off white head. Bubbles are hanging in there and creating a good amount of lacing.
Smell is potent fruity floral hops and some biscuit dough.
Taste is rich bitter hops some pine and grapefruit rind. Malts are plentiful for an IPA.
Mouthfeel is quite full for the style and carbonation is very good. Finishes medium dry and slightly bitter.
Overall a fine West Coast IPA from a brewer I had not heard of. I am looking forward to enjoying more of their products. Fine brew Drake's.

A clean copper pour with 2 fingers of head leaving behind great amount of lacing. Grapefruit, pine, and caramel on the nose.. Citrusy sweet smell.
A lovely mellow citrusy/piney/grapefruit hop flavor blends in nicely with the caramel and bready flavors from the grain bill.
A lighter medium body beer with a good amount of carbonation makes this one very easy to drink.
Overall this is an excellent ipa. Very easy to drink and nicely hopped. The abv is a little high to be sessionable, but I can see someone doin so with this beer.

T: Fairly lean malt residue that is immediately enveloped by the leafy/woodsy hop bitterness. Underlying notes of citrus, with a serious floral aspect to it. Bitterness intermingles and is soapy and resinous. Finishes in an almost ashen/astringent manner. Aftertaste of grapefruit rind and treebark/herb. Remarkably bitter for a single tier IPA.

M: Leaner and crisper than many of its west coast brethren. Mellows out and deepens as the beer opens up and breathes, but still remarkably lean and carbonated mouthfeel for the style.

O: Pretty damn solid. Prefer the Pale Ale by Drake's, but this is nothing to sneeze at.

I've completely overlooked this brewery and am glad I gave this one a try. After having a Hop Ottin from Anderson Valley, this one blows it away.

It has an almost perfect balance between bitterness and flavor. Every few sips you get a touch of alcohol, but that is just an imperfection. Still lots of flavor. Nothing unique, but keeps wanting to go back for me.

Love the mouthfeel.

Awesome beer. A little less full bodied than what would be desired, but still very overlooked. Deserves a better score.